DICE's recent changes to Time to Kill [TTK] and Time to Death [TTD] in Battlefield 5, which were designed to make the shooter more enjoyable for new players, have been a "big talking point and caused a divide in the community", according to the developer. Lots of players preferred the old values, so DICE will add "Core" versions of every playlist, complete with the original TTK and TTD values, next week, it has announced.
When it made the changes earlier this week, it added a "Core" version of the Conquest playlist, but that has "clearly not [been] enough", it said in a Reddit post. "To fix that, we will be adding a 'Core' version of all playlists in the game next week, giving you a clearer choice between new and old settings."
It'll update players early next week to tell them exactly when the new playlists are coming, it added.
Most of the criticism of the adjusted values essentially says that, yes, Battlefield 5 is difficult for new players, but that's as it should be. The top comment on DICE's Reddit post sums it up: "New players are struggling? No shit...name me one multiplayer game where new players can jump in instantly do as good as the experienced players?"
I'm not opposed to having modes that ease new players into the game, but two sets of playlists that are identical except for a slightly different TTK seems a bit messy. I'd hope that, eventually, DICE settles on a value and sticks with it across the board.
